RIP Ronnie Christ

The obit has not appeared yet, but the dean of Penn State football coverage, a 35-year veteran at The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, passed away yesterday after a long illness.

Ronnie was truly part of a dying breed. As soon as the football regular season was over, he was in the office the next basketball night taking high school boxscores. And some of the finest nights of my early career were spent covering games with him.

I never in my life saw Ronnie Christ big-time anyone he met. He was the same guy whether he was interviewing Barry Switzer or talking to a guy on the street at lunch time.

Ronnie had a tough final decade due to the onset of Parkinson's. The affects were well into play by the time the Penn State scandal went down. And no, I never had any interest in knowing how much he knew. I just knew he was one of the better newsmen I'll ever have had the honor of working beside.

 

David Jones' obit column.

Ronnie Christ, longtime Penn State beat writer, beat the competition with calm and class

 

Knew a few veterans like that when I was starting out in the Midwest. Would think nothing of helping out on a preps night when we were shorthanded, even though their main beat was D-I colleges. Always thought they were true pros.